Unemployed workers in countries such as Greece should be offered low-interest home loans and relocation costs to attract them to the state, says South Australia’s Property Council.
In its pre-budget submission to the SA government for 2013-14, the council is also suggesting a new visa be introduced by the federal government to speed up the process of recognising the skills of new arrivals in order to help them find work quickly.
The overseas recruitment mission is a key element in the Property Council’s plan to revive South Australia’s flagging population and support initiatives to restore the state’s economy to health.
Nathan Paine, Property Council SA’s director told Neos Kosmos that with the state’s well below average population growth, the plan was desperately needed.
“At sub one per cent, our population growth rate is the lowest on the Australian mainland.
This not only contributes to economic stagnation, but it also allows a sense of rot to creep in; it’s preventing the vibrancy we all want.
“We have only recently shaken off the ‘rust bucket’ moniker, and quite frankly I don’t know anyone who wants it back.”
The Property Council has presented the SA government with a series of policy recommendations aimed at boosting the state’s growth rate and to act as a stimulant to building construction, retail and hospitality.
“The built environment makes up more than 10 per cent of all employment and all economic activity in this state, so when it slows, the whole economy slows,” Mr Paine said.
“And it’s not just about jobs and the economy. Without development, innovation and progress towards more sustainable communities stops in its tracks. Tax revenues dry up so governments cant pay for the community‟s social needs. Our communities simply cannot evolve and improve without it.”
The proposals centre on a heavy migration push into European countries ravaged by economic turmoil.
The Council says Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Greece represent ideal targets as they each suffer heart-breaking unemployment levels, especially youth unemployment.
The migration push would also offer assistance with the costs of moving and rehousing on the basis of a five-year commitment to remain in Australia.
Such a program would require a special visa class, meaning extensive negotiation between federal and state governments. According to the Property Council the plan could attract an additional 12,000 migrants to the state each year.
Mr Paine said that unemployed young people from Greece represent ideal targets for the program.
“It offers them opportunities in a state and a city that boasts a strong Greek diaspora. South Australia has a massive forward schedule of major infrastructure projects in the pipeline and Adelaide has a level of pent-up housing demand that will require a skilled labour force when that demand is unleashed.
“Young skilled workers from Greece would represent both a catalyst to demand and a response to it.”
Whilst the Property Council’s director admits the plan might cause controversy, he says it has already been tried and tested in South Australia during the state’s heyday.
“This proposal is much like the hailed ‘Ten-Pound Pom’ scheme that helped build our state,” he said.
“That program is remembered fondly for its success in driving local industry, and it formed the demographic base of modern South Australia. If implemented, it’s now going to be a key driver for the renaissance of our great state.”
